Credit Card News Story

16% increase in mortgage lending in April

There was an increase of 16% in loans being approved for would-be home buyers in April, compared to figures for March, lenders have reported.

The latest news will support to the theory that the first green shoots of recession recovery are starting to show and give fresh hope that the housing market is beginning to stabilise. First time buyers need not get excited just yet though, as they will still be expected to cough up 25% of the property value for a deposit. More positive figures revealed that the actual amount borrowed by first time buyers increased to £96,000 in April - highly significant considering that it’s the first increase since May of the previous year.

However, despite the positive month-on-month comparison, the number of loans is actually 28% down on the same month in 2008.